Cultivating Presence & Visibility

Soft is the New Hard

What is it that makes all heads turn when she walks into the room? Why is it that everyone becomes silent the moment he opens his mouth? Colleagues listen so intently as soon as he speaks – they seem to hang on his every word.

Given equal status, ever wonder why some people are held in higher esteem? What is it they do which ensures immediate respect and attention from their counterparts?

Standing out from the crowd and commanding attention is not innate to everyone, but it is a skill that can be learned.

Executive Image

Some call it Executive Presence, others Executive Image, Leadership Presence or another variation of the term. Whichever your preferred description, more often than not, it refers to the powerful, polished, precise radiance of Commitment’ which successful leaders exude as they go about their daily activities.

The Harvard Business Review defines Executive presence as ‘the ability to project a mature self-confidence, a sense that you can take control of difficult, unpredictable situations; make tough decisions in a timely way and hold your own with other talented and strong-willed members of the executive team.’

While public speaking plays a role in how we come off, it is only a small piece of the pie when it comes to Executive Presence.

Cultivating Confidence

How is it that some leaders remain calm and confident when something doesn’t go according to plan? The posture associated with confidence comes from preparation. Nothing can replace taking the time beforehand to prepare yourself for that meeting or presentation. Even an impromptu meeting with your boss can be deserving of 5 minutes of quiet reflection to gather your thoughts and prioritize issues.

Preparation not only means ensuring that you have enhanced knowledge about a topic, synthesized and prioritized ideas; but also that you will naturally be (and appear) more organized and confident in your posture and presentation of relevant key ideas. It enables you to take decisions with conviction.

People with executive presence are excited, energized and determined in everything they do. They project a passion for their work and are prepared and ready for action at all times. Confidence allows you the space to make and own poised decisions. Confidence also gives you the courage to say “no” to negative pressure from both within and outside the workplace. It allows you to remain steady during difficult times, accept setbacks with grace, and adapt readily to new situations.

Practically speaking, it can be affected by a number of behavioral and perceptive elements.

Commanding attention and respect

If you hold a position of authority, chances are you have already proven yourself. What did you do to convince others that you were worthy of their respect and admiration? Take inventory of what you have done right and don’t forget to KEEP DOING IT! People who deserve their seat at the table don’t have to buy it at every meeting, but they often have to work to keep it.

Conveying Expertise

Are you or are you not an expert on the topic? If closer to the novice end of the spectrum, how can you convey a minimal amount of knowledge so people will respect your opinions and decisions? What additional information needs to be obtained before attending the upcoming meeting? Do your homework on the subject (as well as the people!) before stepping into that meeting, conversation or general assembly. Belief in what you are saying helps convey expertise on the topic. Sometimes asking a good, informed question can serve to augment your expertise and improve your image more than a long discourse on the topic.

Obtaining Commitment & Alignment

Good leaders have a sense of mission in every task undertaken. They radiate with enthusiasm for what they do and know how their actions will influence strategic objectives of the organization. Are your personal development goals aligned with business objectives? If you are not so sure, confirm your boss’ or other relevant colleagues’ perspectives in terms of organizational priorities. Then make sure your department’s goals are aligned with these. Assuring clarity of business as well as personal development goals are essential first steps to the alignment process.

Portraying Passion for the People

Successful leaders not only communicate a passion for the work, but also a passion for the people. Does your team respect you for the interest you show in their development and contributions? Recognizing and encouraging team members through positive reinforcement for jobs well done can make a difference in obtaining buy-in, respect and deference along the journey.

Communicating Excitement to Inspire

Talking up the work and how it benefits stakeholders can inspire others to join the bandwagon. When passion for the work is communicated, it inspires people to put their best foot forward. Moving with purpose and determination can also generate respect. Hold your head high as you walk through the door and proceed with conviction through the room. Be sure of what you are saying and state it high and loud. Remaining calm in the face of adversity sparks admiration.

Rewarding others for their work

Make a daily checklist of your own well done’s as well as those of the members of your team. If you can’t find anything more than a mere smile or taking the initiative for some small task, take note! If neither one of these is apparent, list something for which you are grateful (it could be something as simple as a sunrise). Positive reinforcement is contagious and makes people feel good. Don’t forget to begin with yourself to set the example!

Communicating Empathy

Exhibiting a genuine concern for and desire to understand direct reports, team members and other individuals in the organization can be felt in every exchange and strategic initiative. As a result, you become a magnet with whom people want to work.

Understand both the power of silence and knowing WHEN, WHAT and HOW to communicate

Engaging Others with Good Questions

Demonstrating curiosity about colleagues’ points of views is the best way to engage and hold their attention. People love to speak about themselves and be consulted on their opinions. Asking non-judgmental, open-ended questions about relevant issues can make all the difference. When asking questions, keep them on topic, short, and present or future-focused. Beginning with “what” and “how” opens the floor for cerebral stimulation and development. A word of caution: Questions beginning with “why” can sometimes put people on the defensive and questions that are too focused on the past could unnecessarily keep people stuck.

Being a good Follower

Leaders set a good example by being loyal and respecting their mentors, superiors and instructors; which is one of the ways they were able to succeed in the first place. You learn as a follower and that allows you to better emulate well-respected leaders, relate to your audience, build your credibility and earn their trust when you become a leader.

Dressing for Success

Only have 5 great outfits and saving them for those special gigs? There is something to be said for first impressions. Always dress as if the people you are meeting are new clients – or the Queen of England. At the very least, make sure you are clean, presentable and put your best face forward. You are setting an example for the team and dressing your best is a way of demonstrating respect. How we dress communicates not only the respect we have for others, but also the respect we have for ourselves. Dressing for success helps create that reality. Wear those top-grade ensembles more often!

Quality of Voice

Monotone Voice? Do some people talk over you or seem to enter the conversation just as you were going to speak? Grabbing the attention of the boardroom may require some practice in terms of volume and inflection. Speaking in measured phrases with emphasis but not too much excitement can help to get your point across clearly. Take voice lessons or implement a regular exercise to develop a commanding quality. You can do this on your own by standing in one corning of the room and rehearsing your speech by throwing your voice diagonally to the furthest corner of the room. Rehearsing your speech in the shower or other humid quarters is another useful practice.

Positioning

Power is contagious. Don’t be afraid to arrive early and grab that seat closest to the most powerful person in the room. Getting to the venue ahead of time allows for small talk that can also help put you at ease and increase confidence that will further serve to enhance your image.

Visibility

Getting noticed by decision makers is not always easy and some actions may be very specific to your professional situation. In spite of this, there are proven tactics that have worked for many an executive.

Visibility consists of making oneself and accomplished feats known to key stakeholders. It also involves pointing out how these accomplishments have helped to augment the reputation, efficiency and / or profitability of the organization.

Communicate your Wins

Accomplishing much for the company but no one seems to know? In all humility, make your accomplishments known to relevant people in the hierarchy. In some cases this can be done verbally, in others in an e-mail or newsletter, sometimes a combination of both is necessary. Find the best means suited to disseminate the information you need to put out there and don’t be afraid to let people know. If you don’t, who will?

Networking

One common technique for leaders to make those necessary connections involves getting involved in transverse work groups or committees. Joining such initiatives helps meet those relevant stakeholders in a more relaxed environment where you can be yourself. Undertake a stakeholder analysis and connect with 2 or 3 people who could be the most relevant to your career at this time.

Stakeholder mapping

Not sure who you need to influence? Conduct a stakeholder mapping including relevant colleagues both inside and outside your department or immediate realm of influence. Who do you feel closer to? Who seems more distant? Who could help to grow your career? Analyze the existing relationships with each of them, then select 2-3 which could be worthwhile to further develop in order to help advance your career.

Making the Time

Too busy and can’t find the time to network, or further develop relationships with key stakeholders? Create a structure stating the new action you’d like to pursue and the regularity with which you could reasonably undertake it. Like to make more rounds to see colleagues? Need to prepare more before meetings? A structure such as writing it down in your calendar or noting it on your wall or computer screen can help. A visual reminder reinforces the importance and heightens the probability of carrying out the task, thus ensuring that you won’t defer these essential actions any longer.

Playing Politics

Prefer working alone? Don’t like to ‘play politics’? You may have to decide to what extent and at what cost you wish to protect your privacy. While it might not be in your nature to attend every single town hall meeting or raise your hand to head up all initiatives, making an effort to get involved at some level will make you more visible. Decide which task force or think tank most closely resonates with your authentic style and attempt a leadership role in within.

Making yourself known and available to others in ways that are perceived to be helpful can also shift opinions. Not a group joiner? If you consider ‘playing the political scene’ as fake or phony, you may need to adjust your perspective and behavior to fit in that important town hall meeting or kind word which can make a difference to the right people.

Managing Up

In some cases, standing out from the crowd may involve convincing the boss that you are capable of filling in in his absence. What are your boss’ needs? If you can’t answer this question, you may need to dig a bit deeper into her motivations. A casual lunch or coffee can provide the space for her to let her hair down and for you to ask those open questions that lead to her confiding more private thoughts and aspirations to you. Armed with additional knowledge, you will be better able to define relevant ways to help out, tailor your communications and tasks moving forward. Another way to gain the recognition of the hierarchy is to prepare and present a proposal of consequence to top management.

Impeccable Character

Being successful also involves strength of character and being liked. Are you the type of person who people love to work with due to your good nature and efficiency or does your personality have a tendency to get in the way of establishing good relationships with (or even repel) coworkers? If you show impatience by raising your voice or drumming your fingers, you may need to consider ways to better manage your emotions.

Questioning and Listening …

If you have a tendency to blurt out disagreement when you are uncomfortable or are surprised by a point of view, ask an objective open-ended question instead, and then listen intently to the answer.

A good question coming from a place of genuine curiosity can do much to gain allies and help to enhance your image.

Job Title

Whether you are seeking to promote yourself inside our outside the organization, your job title should be specific enough to convey how you can help both internal and external stakeholders. Listing the languages you speak can also be a plus.

The possibilities to improve your image are numerous. Focus on the ones which will make the biggest difference for you and let us know which tactics work best!

Testimonials

Carol Tay, Commercial Image & Brand Development , TOTAL.

It was a pleasure working with Dana during an evaluation/consultation session, thanks to her rich experience and warm personality! I would gladly recommend Dana to organisations/professionals seeking for effective coaching in leadership.

October 2017

Jean-René Videgla , Purchasing Manager at Federal-Mogul Corporation

Through the LDP training made at the Center for Creative Leadership in Brussels, I had my coaching sessions with Dana. Her listening skills, well organized methodology & feedback along with her communicative energy were impressive and lead to very good insights and clear actions for my personal development. Some of the specific exercises we did were a very good help. I strongly recommend Dana as a coach.

January 2017

Benoit Lassalle, Service Manager at TOTAL

Dana is a brillant and experienced coach. During the session I had with her, she pointed out precisely my personality, and helped me to build my improvement plan. I would be glad to work with her again !

I had a relationship coaching with session which was very impactful in helping me understand the perspective of my good friend, mentor and colleague. The exercises were powerful and very engaging to help me think without being intrusive or stressful. Dana was a great coach – listening and providing insights to steer the conversation.

August 2016

Bernard Gilmont, Director Engineered Products, European Aluminium

Dana is a top experienced coach with strong empathy and deep understanding of working relationships. It’s a real asset to have her as coach thanks to her excellent advice in all situations.

I recommend anyone willing improve her/his performance to work with Dana.

March 2018.

Stephanie Jaeger, PMP LIMC

Dana is an excellent Coach! She makes you relax and eases you into the process. She is also very perceptive of your situation and sensitive to your individual situation. I have thoroughly enjoyed the 2 coaching sessions I had with her as part of my 360 Feedback. She has helped me identify which areas I need to concentrate on to improve. At the same time she has helped me identify my strengths and be confident with them.

I truly recommend Dana as a Coach and appreciate her spending this time with me.

Gregory Mantes, Cost Controller at Total Marketing & Services

Thanks to Dana’s coaching , I was able to identify key areas to work on in order to further develop my leadership skills. I now have a better understanding of the perception that others may have of my personality, and how to improve it.

September 2017

Karan Bagga, Board Director, PMI

I was fortunate to have worked with Dana as my Professional Coach as part of PMI’s Leadership Institute Master Class. Her tips, open discussion about modern day challenges, leadership requirements and investment of time in developing my personal leadership and communication skills along with the encouragement she provided to me were invaluable.

Dana is a great coach, a genuine listener and generous with her time, knowledge and insight. I thoroughly enjoyed how she challenged me and how we reviewed a past event and were able to plan and get the desired outcome by adapting a different style of communication. She is delightful to work with and I recommend her highly for Executive coaching.

September 2018.

Deb Ruick, Managing Director, Merrill Edge

Even a coach needs a coach… As a financial executive and life coach, I have collected models, methods and tools to effectively partner with clients. But when the coach is the client, it is difficult to allow your vulnerability to be examined. Dana is masterful in creating an environment of support, intellectual curiosity, authentic caring yet the firmness to hold accountability and forward movement.

Results … Lightness of heart, excitement for the possibilities and FUN is now a daily feeling vs. an occasional event!

Dana is currently just the right mentor to me: keen on identifying concrete levers to improve my social awareness and relationship even more, giving the best inputs on leadership tools, helping to build reflexes on a daily basis. After 2 discussions, I am already benefiting from my moments with her, and can’t wait for the next one.

November 2017.

Ali Julazadeh, Sales Engineer, Mersen

I met Dana at the “Emerging Talent Development Center” held for us by my company through Heidrick & Struggles in Paris. I was very lucky and had Dana as my coach during the 2 days program. Dana is the best! she gave me a different point of view and with her help I was able to recognize where I could improve myself. One of my main areas of concern was how to better influence people without being too nice or too hard on them. She totally opened my eyes on this, as the old adage goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it!”. I would gladly recommend Dana to organizations and/or leadership professionals seeking professional coaching.

I have had the luxury to be coached by Dana during various sessions recently, as part of my Adaptive Leadership program. Her coaching style, supported with her competencies, triggered a lot of new thoughts and learnings with me, which I am able to use in my daily work and life in a broader sense. I see (and other people do recognise similar) the difference in the way I interact with people to the benefit of the relation and to the success of the company.

Dana shows a deep interest in what is driving you and aims to find out how to become more effective by asking the right questions and from that providing you with different insights. This is certainly what I have experienced. She does this in a pleasant way and is able to connect and switch easily between various theoretic models and how to apply these practically.

A Great and Effective Experience and thanks again Dana for the lessons learned and time spent together. For sure I will recommend you (like I am doing already) to many others as well!

September 2018

Sarah McNabb Snyder, Yoga Instructor

Dana is very perceptive, and knows exactly which questions to ask. She has the ability to cut through my nebulous thoughts and ideas, providing clarity and direction for moving forward with my professional and personal goals.

Even a coach needs a coach… As a financial executive and life coach, I have collected models, methods and tools to effectively partner with clients. But when the coach is the client, it is difficult to allow your vulnerability to be examined. Dana is masterful in creating an environment of support, intellectual curiosity, authentic caring yet the firmness to hold accountability and forward movement.

Results … Lightness of heart, excitement for the possibilities and FUN is now a daily feeling vs. an occasional event!

With her good personality, Dana was able to facilitate our group coaching sessions so that we were more open and willing to change our mindset. She kept us on track and moved us forward to produce good results.

Through the LDP training made at the Center for Creative Leadership in Brussels, I had my coaching sessions with Dana. Her listening skills, well organized methodology & feedback along with her communicative energy were impressive and lead to very good insights and clear actions for my personal development. The specific exercises we did were a very good help. I strongly recommend Dana as a coach.

Dana is an excellent Coach! She makes you relax and eases you into the process. She is also very perceptive of your situation and sensitive to your individual situation. I have thoroughly enjoyed the 2 coaching sessions I had with her as part of my 360 Feedback. She has helped me identify which areas I need to concentrate on to improve. At the same time she has helped me identify my strengths and be confident with them.

I truly recommend Dana as a Coach and appreciate her spending this time with me.

I have had the luxury to be coached by Dana during various sessions recently, as part of my Adaptive Leadership program. Her coaching style, supported with her competencies, triggered a lot of new thoughts and learnings with me, which I am able to use in my daily work and life in a broader sense. I see (and other people do recognise similar) the difference in the way I interact with people to the benefit of the relation and to the success of the company.

Dana shows a deep interest in what is driving you and aims to find out how to become more effective by asking the right questions and from that providing you with different insights. This is certainly what I have experienced. She does this in a pleasant way and is able to connect and switch easily between various theoretic models and how to apply these practically.

A Great and Effective Experience and thanks again Dana for the lessons learned and time spent together. For sure I will recommend you (like I am doing already) to many others as well!

Dana is a great coach, who has also become a friend. I find it fascinating that our executive coaching sessions seem to be a combination of friendly chat and laboratory research, where she plays the role of scientist and I play the role of the lab rat! Overall she has a good coaching approach to assisting her clients’ self discovery.

I had a relationship coaching with session which was very impactful in helping me understand the perspective of my good friend, mentor and colleague. The exercises were powerful and very engaging to help me think without being intrusive or stressful. Dana was a great coach – listening and providing insights to steer the conversation.

Dana provided much needed community services to Mission employees and families at the U.S. Embassy in Luanda, Angola during our time together there. Luanda was (and still is) a very difficult place to live, especially as a member of the expat community. Dana was very active in helping new arrivals navigate and integrate the new culture by providing cross-cultural integration workshops, orientation projects, and confidential coaching services. Luanda was my first overseas assignment and Dana helped to make it a positive experience.

Great experience with Master Coach! I sincerely thank you for your support and guidance, it was indeed a pleasure for us to have an executive coach who can understand us at the beginning of our group project – great comfort and time we spent.

I know Dana as someone who is open, curious to explore and willing to take on challenges. Her management consulting background coupled with her unique coaching style, help grow leaders to maximize their potential to surpass targets. As Dana works primarily with C-suite and other senior leaders in transition across multiple nationalities and geographical locations, she offers the space in her unique ‘ACTIVATE Your Power’ coaching model, a building of your strengths to drive growth that is aligned to your vision and values. I highly recommend working with Dana.

I met Dana at the “Emerging Talent Development Center” held for us by my company through Heidrick & Struggles in Paris. I was very lucky and had Dana as my coach during the 2 days program. Dana is the best! she gave me a different point of view and with her help I was able to recognize where I could improve myself. One of my main areas of concern was how to better influence people without being too nice or too hard on them. She totally opened my eyes on this, as the old adage goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it!”. I would gladly recommend Dana to organizations and/or leadership professionals seeking professional coaching.

When I was first introduced to the idea of utilizing an executive coach, I wasn’t really sure what to expect or what benefits I would get from it. However, after working with Dana over the course of several months, she really impressed me with her fabulous leadership. I was able to better understand my personal strengths and opportunities and put together a game plan to make improvements in my professional and personal life. Dana’s organized approach and feedback enabled me to realize my potential and put together a very targeted approach to reach my goals. Dana was also instrumental in working with my peers toward a common set of goals. Today, I consider her a great friend and someone that I know that I can rely on for excellent advice on tough situations. I strongly recommend Dana for any coaching programs that she has to offer – she is really outstanding!

Although I didn’t have a specific goal at the beginning of our coaching relationship, it quickly became evident that working on developing my interpersonal skills would be beneficial.

Not only did coaching with Dana help improve my communication with others, but it also helped uncover some underlying beliefs and self-imposed limitations which were holding me back from leading a fulfilling life.

My eyes were opened to professional opportunities that were staring me in the face. The process has given me the courage to listen to my inner wisdom, the clarity to design an efficient path to my ultimate goals, and the confidence to execute right actions with conviction.

Dana is currently just the right mentor to me: keen on identifying concrete levers to improve my social awareness and relationship even more, giving the best inputs on leadership tools, helping to build reflexes on a daily basis. After 2 discussions, I am already benefiting from my moments with her, and can’t wait for the next one.

I have greatly benefitted from this career coaching program. Identifying my values and strengths has been invaluable in energizing me and helping to orient my career in the right direction. Coaching with Dana has opened doors in my head that I didn’t know existed. New perspectives have been presented and a host of options and opportunities have emerged – both for the long-run and short-term. Thank you!

Dana’s commitment to moving me forward could be felt in every session through her attentive listening and energy which were reflected back with relevant perspectives. As a result of our coaching sessions, I have been able to make critical decisions and carry out pivotal actions with conviction. I recommend Dana without hesitation.

It was a pleasure working with Dana during an evaluation/consultation session, thanks to her rich experience and warm personality! I would gladly recommend Dana to organisations/professionals seeking for effective coaching in leadership.

I believe no matter how successful a person is, we always need a coach to remind us, challenge us and encourage us to move forward. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with Dana as my coach in our company’s leadership coaching program for senior management staff. Dana’s professionalism and friendly approach created an environment where we can share freely with trust. Throughout my 12 coaching sessions, I managed to identify things that needed to be improved in order for me to be a more effective leader in the workplace and able to achieve a balance between work and family life. Dana is a great coach and I really enjoyed our coaching sessions.

Dana did a thorough understanding of my profile prior to the coaching. She helped me establish the links between different assessments, how my strengths can be put to good use in improving relationships with bosses and direct reports, and how to turn weaknesses into positive energies.

Dana – thank you for your coaching…it was very helpful for our team. We had reached a deadlock and your coaching resolved the whole problem. Now we have re-started and the project looks very promising… Thanks again.

As the former CEO of Aalberts Industries Material Technologies, Spain, my initial fear was that an increasing work load would overtake my life – to the detriment of other essential elements. Coaching with Dana helped me design structures to manage precious time and keep my life in balance. Relationships with my family have improved, my health is on the upswing, and my professional performance is better than ever. The energy and direction provided in our sessions still motivate me today.

Dana’s able to handle difficult session, guiding us with the right questions without ever “removing the nail”. She was able to drive discussion such that each of us was able to identify our strengths and areas to work on. Very effective and excellent coach.

When I was first introduced to the idea of utilizing an executive coach, I wasn’t really sure what to expect or what benefits I would get from it. However, after working with Dana over the course of several months, she really impressed me with her fabulous leadership. I was able to better understand my personal strengths and opportunities and put together a game plan to make improvements in my professional and personal life. Dana’s organized approach and feedback enabled me to realize my potential and put together a very targeted approach to reach my goals. Dana was also instrumental in working with my peers toward a common set of goals. Today, I consider her a great friend and someone that I know that I can rely on for excellent advice in tough situations. I strongly recommend Dana for any coaching programs that she has to offer – she is really outstanding!

I never thought these 1-hour phone calls could be so productive. They have helped so much in crystalizing ideas that were floating around in my head and otherwise would have been lost. Now I have a plan with specific actions I can act on to the betterment of my own self productivity and the company’s overall development.

As the former CEO of Aalberts Industries Material Technologies, Spain, my initial fear was that an increasing work load would overtake my life – to the detriment of other essential elements. Coaching with Dana helped me design structures to manage precious time and keep my life in balance. Relationships with my family have improved, my health is on the upswing, and my professional performance is better than ever. The energy and direction provided in our sessions still motivate me today.

Dana’s commitment to moving me forward could be felt in every session through her attentive listening, energy and excitement that were reflected back with relevant perspectives. As a result of our coaching sessions, I have been able to make critical decisions and carry out pivotal actions with conviction. I recommend Dana without hesitation.

Dana recognizes strengths in all people and can channel those strengths to help people achieve their most efficient levels. She is able to put structure into any program or objective to help achieve optimum results. This may include resetting expectations and zooming in-and-out to micro- and macro-level viewpoints. Dana has unique insight into what motivates people and what makes them happiest.

Personally, Dana helped me refocus my efforts into a more financially rewarding and definitely more fulfilling career path, while pushing me to keep the balance in my life. Years after our initial meeting, I continue to refer to Dana again and again and highly endorse her.

I was fortunate to have worked with Dana as my Professional Coach as part of PMI’s Leadership Institute Master Class. Her tips, open discussion about modern day challenges, leadership requirements and investment of time in developing my personal leadership and communication skills along with the encouragement she provided to me were invaluable.

Dana is a great coach, a genuine listener and generous with her time, knowledge and insight. I thoroughly enjoyed how she challenged me and how we reviewed a past event and were able to plan and get the desired outcome by adapting a different style of communication. She is delightful to work with and I recommend her highly for Executive coaching.

Dana’s able to handle difficult session, guiding us with the right questions without ever “removing the nail”. She was able to drive discussion such that each of us was able to identify our strengths and areas to work on. Very effective and excellent coach.

In life you are never alone and you should never be alone. In my personal endeavor to become a better person and better leader at work, I was fortunate to have engaged a professional coach like Dana. She provides sound advice and helped me develop my life compass. Through her coaching techniques, I have learnt to be more aware of my leadership style and gaps. This awareness helped me to prioritize and develop a plan to work on the gaps. Dana is a solid, reliable and effective coach who I would strongly recommend to any executive who wants to challenge themselves to up their ante in the corporate game. Thank you so much for everything.

Having recently been promoted to an executive position within an international brokerage firm, I would like to thank Dana for partnering with me to achieve this goal with ease. Structures established during our coaching sessions have helped me move into a space of calmness, presence and confidence in this new, more strategic role. It is amazing what minor adjustments have done to deepen professional relationships, increase confidence and effectiveness, and enhance the performance in both myself and my team.

Partnering with Dana has been an amazing experience. She helped me transform the vision of my business into reality using techniques that were appropriate to my learning style. Dana pushed me outside my comfort zone and I now realize that moving through the fear and telling my story will serve a higher good – to motivate others to be the best that they can be no matter what. The acknowledgement, courage, and strength provided in the sessions with Dana have generated enormous personal growth and enabled me to perform at my peak.

Partnering with Dana has been an amazing experience. She helped me transform the vision of my business into reality using techniques that were appropriate to my learning style. Dana pushed me outside my comfort zone and I now realize that moving through the fear and telling my story will serve a higher good – to motivate others to be the best that they can be no matter what. The acknowledgement, courage, and strength provided during our coaching sessions have generated enormous personal growth and enabled me to perform at my peak.

Having recently left my previous professional position to relocate to Brunei with my husband, I was considering starting a Masters degree in Anthropology. At the time, I was not confident in my ability to manage the research – I could only see obstacles and potential problems.Through coaching with Dana, I discovered that there was a solution to each issue. Instead of focusing on problems, we concentrated on my strengths and drew up a schedule in terms of goals, priorities and actions. I even identified and was energized to achieve related goals which were important to me at that time.

Through the LDP training made at the Center for Creative Leadership in Brussels, I had my coaching sessions with Dana. Her listening skills, well organized methodology & feedback along with her communicative energy were impressive and lead to very good insights and clear actions for my personal development. Some of the specific exercises we did were a very good help. I strongly recommend Dana as a coach.

Thanks to Dana’s coaching , I was able to identify key areas to work on in order to further develop my leadership skills. I now have a better understanding of the perception that others may have of my personality, and how to improve it.

I never thought these 1-hour phone calls could be so productive. They have helped so much in crystalizing ideas that were floating around in my head and otherwise would have been lost. Now I have a plan with specific actions I can act on to the betterment of my own self productivity and the company’s overall development.

Dana clearly brought added-value and insights to my challenges and to understanding of my work relationships (boss, direct reports, etc…). She had thoroughly prepared and analyzed my assessments. She listened to me carefully and managed to bring very powerful insights to improve my understanding of my boss’ needs and my leadership style. I am looking forward to the follow-up sessions.

Dana brings to bear her intuitive and native intellect, combined with her vast experience as one of the pioneers in coaching in multiple countries and cultures, has carved out her unique niche as an Organizational Development Mentor and Diversity Navigator. She has helped many in their journey, including guiding and mentoring me on my coaching path. She is extremely focussed on delivering value to both the organization and the coachee. I have found that she gets energized in the process and this is communicated to the coachee who consequently takes responsibility and achieves the desired results.

Dana is a fabulous coach who has greatly assisted me in the process of self-discovery. Our coaching sessions helped build awareness around my unique abilities and true north. A good overall coaching approach with the right balance of support and challenge to build a trusting relationship and speed results.

Dana builds a good rapport with a trusting and comfortable space. She is a very good listener, behaves professionally, is goal-oriented and delivers accountability. Dana knows how to find the right balance between pushing the client forward towards his goals and holding the relationship. This ability is in my opinion the most prominent strength of Dana as a coach.

Dana is very perceptive, and knows exactly which questions to ask. She has the ability to cut through my nebulous thoughts and ideas, providing clarity and direction for moving forward with my professional and personal goals.

Dana is an extremely energetic professional who makes things happen. She was instrumental in bringing a relatively new assessment tool, Workplace Big Five Profile, into Malaysia and made a success of it with her clients.

She has a great appetite to try new solutions and an admirable learning agility.

Dana is a brillant and experienced coach. During the session I had with her, she pointed out precisely my personality, and helped me to build my improvement plan. I would be glad to work with her again !

Coaching is a special time every week for a manager to think, improve and monitor their work and behavior. Dana is involved and discerning – thanks to coaching with her I am continuously discovering my own style of leadership and effectively implementing it.

With the new strategy co-created with Dana to empower the team, I implemented the actions of letting them take the lead and spent most of my time listening, restructuring tasks, and giving the required authorization to take decisions without the need to refer to me. I was not believing the results in this very short time, my team astonished me with their ability to judge critical situations and take some important décisions.